1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for high-density information storage, and more particularly, to systems and methods for reading and writing information to high density using optical devices capable of focusing light with high power to spot sizes less than 30 nm in diameter.
2. Description of the Related Art
The aerial disk recording density of magnetic media within modern hard disk drives has increased at a pace of tens of percents annually in recent years through a series of breakthroughs. For example, perpendicular recording, where magnetic bits are oriented substantially perpendicular to the disk platters, has made it possible to achieve storage densities on the order of about 0.5 Terabit per square inch (Tb/in2) in prototype media.
It is believed, however, that such magnetic recording systems may face increasing difficulty progressing significantly beyond 1 Tb/in2 densities. Notably, recording densities, even in perpendicular recording media, are substantially limited by the grains size of the ferromagnetic materials comprising the magnetic media. For example, it takes approximately 60-80 grains to compose a single bit which provides meaningful signal strength to overcome the noise created by randomness in the grain size and magnetization. Furthermore, reducing the volume of grains within the bits to further increase storage density may result in demagnetization by heat and loss of data.
Another problem facing the data storage industry pertains to the tools employed to read and write data to storage media. While advancements in technology may produce storage media having greater storage densities, present read/write technologies are not able to write and read data with sufficient resolution to fully take advantage of such media.